Your Painting Philosophy

[Elapid]

i try to make 'em pretty, but don't stress too much about imperfections considering they will prolly blow up anyway...


how about you guys?

 

[rocketsonly]

Sometimes I'm too afraid to put a large motor in my nicely painted models. So if I plan on loosing the model, I make a nice but not perfect paint job. Of the dozen flights I've had with C motors, I've only retreived approximately half the rockets.

 

[shrox]

Masking has always been my biggest problem. I have found that giving the model a clear coat , then masking over that works very well. No paint pulled up with the tape, and it seems to bleed less too. Now I am trying more graphical and difficult paint jobs.

shrox

 

[solrules]

Originally posted by shrox
Masking has always been my biggest problem.

Heh. I just painted my Black Brant II. More masking than you can shake a stick at. It's not perfect, but I feel it is done to the best of my abilities. I found the biggest imperfecton after masking is the 'sharp' edge that I get from the paint. I think that if I peel the tape off before the paint is completley solid, it will solve the problem: but will the paint sort of leak down and run? Experiences anyone?

 

[shrox]

Originally posted by solrules
Heh. I just painted my Black Brant II. More masking than you can shake a stick at. It's not perfect, but I feel it is done to the best of my abilities. I found the biggest imperfecton after masking is the 'sharp' edge that I get from the paint. I think that if I peel the tape off before the paint is completley solid, it will solve the problem: but will the paint sort of leak down and run? Experiences anyone?

If it is fast drying spray paint like Krylon it should only take a few minutes to dry enough for tape removal without running.

shrox

 

[cydermaster]

Every model I paint is better than the last. As I practice & learn more & more, I get better & better; but I always cock something up: A fingerprint on the last 'wet' coat, masking problems (normally bleed), odd bit of grain showing through on the fins, etc. Its rare for me to make a mistake noticable from more than a couple of feet away (now - lol).

I do have to take a step back, every now and then, and remind myself that I'd never even touched a paint-spray can a few years ago, and now I'm compairing my work against people like Sandman, Micromister et multum al. When I look at it that way, I'm really quite pleased with my work. :chuffed:

 

[Mike]

Know what you mean Dan, looking back at my early models which I painted with a brush. All those lovely wobbly lines by the fins. Having finally picked up a spray can things didn't improve...as far as I was concerned a drips were normal!

 

[Elapid]

try Parafilm!
it is so thin, there's nothing to dam up the paint.

it is a stretchy, tacky, paraffin-based material that won't pull off paint, will conform to complex curves, and can be cut easily after placement to make very complex designs...

 

[BlueNinja]

Where can you get it, and how sticky exactly is it?

 

[Austin]

I would have to say I am somewhat A R ... err... "detail oriented" regarding paint. It's a disease...I can't help myself.

Carl

 

[bsexton]

If you can't do it right -- don't do it at all!

And I drive myself absolutely crazy in the process...

 

[daveyfire]

I always gotta get em perfect, I'm just too lazy. As such, they usually sit around unpainted until the week before the launch, then I rush and get really sick of sanding and painting. After the launch, all my rockets still sit in the garage gathering dust and then the cycle repeats...

 

[Steward]

You know it's just a model rocket...(or have I said something wrong?)

Remember that it's something FUN to do... to build... to paint... to fly...!!!

I try to make things look nice with the paint... but I'm not gonna go overboard... they are built to fly and if they look nice..well thats OK. I keep it simple...basic colors... some masking to maybe change colors... but hardly ever anything do difficult...LOL

Sometimes it's like the cover art... sometimes it's not... just whatever I feel like at the time...

Always spray paint....(Krylon)

 

[rstaff3]

If the rocket looks good from 10' away, then its good enough for me!

 

[bsexton]

Originally posted by bsexton
If you can't do it right -- don't do it at all!

I forgot to post a picture - is it real or is it Memorex?

 

[Aerobee300]

I try for a nice finish .... but perfection ain't my bag. I do seem to do a slightly better job on static models than I do on models that fly.

 

[BobH48]

I try to make them look good but if you look closely you will see balsa grain in the fins and spirals on the tube.

 

[kelltym88]

I try to make them look nice, sometimes I try to make them exactly like the cover art, but there are always balsa grains showing thru or the spirals from the tubes. Oh well good enough, once it's launched it get discolored anyway from the ejection gases.

 

[kelltym88]

Originally posted by rstaff3
If the rocket looks good from 10' away, then its good enough for me!

What he said.

 

[flying_silverad]

I try to make every model better than the last. Like I said...I try. Sometimes the fickle fing of fate forgets and sometimes...it doesn't.

My problem is visualizing what it SHOULD look like.

 

[Donaldsrockets]

I usually go for the best paint job possible but I generally don't strive for perfection because usually after half a dozen flights or so, my rockets start looking like crap anyway.

In fact, some of my rockets are in need of new paint jobs.

A perfect example is of my Estes Silver Comet. I painted it silver and it came out beautiful. After three flights, it really started looking like crap and after about six flights, it looks like something that I may have pulled out of a garbage can. Testor's next time perhaps. That is by far the most durable silver paint I've ever used.

 

[Elapid]

https://www.2spi.com/catalog/supp/supp4b.shtml
should be avialable from any scientific supply

 

[Fore Check]

I believe that anything worth doing, is worth doing *well.*

I go for the best finish possible. It's only my still improving skills that limit the level of perfection achieved.

 

[Micromeister]

I must admit I border on the side of obsessive perfectionist but of late am forcing myself to accept that as human beings we can not do anything perfectly. Practice makes consistent and/or permanent, not perfect
To strive for absoute perfection is fine, as long as you can acknowledge there will be tiny blemishes, dings and minor imperfections beyond your control
Now ya have to remember this is mostly aimed at scale modeling, but also holds true for plain old model finishing to some degree. Include No detail smaller than your largest blemish is the general rule of thumb. This gets very hairy on Micro Scale models, the reason for my obsession
I simple can no longer build a model and leave wood grain on any surface on matter how large or small the model. body tube spirials are another thing that just can't be overlooked. a bit of a ragged stripping line where the Parafilm-M or masking may not have been as precise as thought..well now I can just go fly it
Fins slightly misaligned on a sport model...OK who's really going to notice?
I'd say build/finish your models to your own liking, but make your launch gear nifty, neat and good looking. Afterall, the model will be in the air, or at least 15' away, but while your out retrieving it.. your Launch equipment is standing there alone representing our hobby
silly words to consider.

 

[Hospital_Rocket]

I try real hard - get mixed results. Usually from lack of patience.

I also adhere to the "I don't paint it until it flys at least once" philosophy.

 

[Airdale]

I strive to give it the best paint job I know how to do at the moment and if it looks good from 5 ft. away I am happy. No sprials and a good gloss coat. Then fly it till the cows come home or worse.

Each ding tells it's own story.

Cheers David

 

[Stewart32]

I can't get a good paint job. I always get dust in the wet coat. I have decied that Walmart's cheapest brands are just that...cheap. So I have begun to spend a little more on quality rattle cans. As for dust... what I really need to do is improvise a small painting booth.


However... I never want the paint job to deter flight. I'm not after presentation quality but rather a "good job"... a relative term.

I buy, build and fly. Any collection of bagged kits is merely a result of not having enough time to build all the rockets I have bought.

here is a trick I do sometimes.... I'll put a freshly painted rocket (tacky) in the car on a summer day to somewhat bake the paint...
(the car is a rollscanhardly)

 

[arthur dent]

I am very happy with my paint jobs if they look good on the launch pad.But i do try to make each new rocket better than the last

 

[karatekicker271]

Originally posted by Hospital_Rocket
I try real hard - get mixed results. Usually from lack of patience.

ditto

 

[DynaSoar]

Originally posted by solrules
Heh. I just painted my Black Brant II. More masking than you can shake a stick at. It's not perfect, but I feel it is done to the best of my abilities. I found the biggest imperfecton after masking is the 'sharp' edge that I get from the paint. I think that if I peel the tape off before the paint is completley solid, it will solve the problem: but will the paint sort of leak down and run? Experiences anyone?

The cleanest masking lines I've ever gotten were with Pactra vinyl striping tape. It seems to just cut the paint surface when I pull it off, due to the stretching I think. It's sort of expensive for general use, but for a scale bird possibly worth it. The rest can be used for racing/spin/decorative stripes on other models. I've been able to pull it after only 15 minutes drying using Rustoleum glossy.

Except the metallic paints. Those take a couple days to dry, and a week before you can mask over them.